According to the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association, approximately 500 million printer cartridges end up in landfills each year, worldwide. And those cartridges, although supposedly empty, can still contain up to 8 percent residual toner by weight. Not only is this wasteful, but the toner can also leach into the soil. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of […]
Recycle Your Toner Cartridges
Protecting Your PIN
That person who’s waiting behind you while you’re using an ATM, or who’s nearby when you’re conducting online banking on your smartphone … are they peeking at the keypad as you enter your PIN? Well, even if they are, a new technology developed at New York University could thwart them – it displays the number keys in a different arrangement, depending […]
Walk In This Ski Boots With Ease
Although downhill skiing itself is a lot of fun, trying to walk around in the boots can be … challenging. It was with this limitation in mind that British skier and entrepreneur Rony Shirion designed Zuke, a permanent attachment that brings a curved sole to ski boots. The problem with walking in traditional downhill ski boots is the fact that […]
Say Cheese
Your favourite childhood snack, the humble cheese toast, just got an upgrade. Say Chiizu, Thailand’s stretchiest Hokkaido-style cheese toast opens five outlets across the island this week. The first takeaway kiosk made an appearance at Vivocity yesterday, with other stands opening up at 313@Somerset, White Sands Shopping Centre, The Clementi mall, and a café is said to be in the […]
Passcodes Hidden In Your Clothes
If you don’t like the idea of your boss implanting a chip in your hand to let you open doors and log into office computers, a team from the University of Washington has developed a system that doesn’t require quite so big a commitment. It allows passcodes to be stored in your clothes without electronics, courtesy of a patch of magnetic fabric […]
New Instagrammable Bobii Frutii
The Return Of The Taiwanese Bubble Tea craze in Singapore sees old players such as Gong Cha, Singapore brand LiHo and Taiwan’s PlayMade ??, all of them with difference in their areas of specialty. Let’s just say Gong Cha is known for their Alisan Milk Foam, LiHo for Cheese drinks (which is now everywhere) and PlayMade ?? for their freshly made pearls. Bobii Frutii […]
Auto Killing Germs Door Pads
Look around any hospital, and you’ll see plenty of hand-sanitizer dispensers. Unfortunately, not everyone uses them, and their germs can spread rapidly on commonly-touched surfaces such as door handles. With that in mind, a University of Leeds spinoff company has created bacteria-killing door pads. Known as Surfaceskins, the low-cost textiles cover a door’s existing aluminum push plate. When someone pushes […]
Using Wifi Signal To Rescue The Lost
If you’re lost or injured in the wilderness, there’s a good chance that there won’t be cellular coverage where you are – that means you can’t just phone for help. Your smartphone may still get you found, however, thanks to a new app designed at Spain’s Universidad de Alicante. When the app is activated by the user, it periodically emits […]
Repika Your New Chat Bot Friend
Today, the chatbot is available for free for anyone over the age of 18 (it’s prohibited for ages 13 and younger, and requires parental supervision for ages 13 to 18). More than 500,000 people are now signed up to chat with the bot. To do so, users tap the app icon — a white egg hatching on a purple background […]
Using “Kevin” To Keep Off Burglars
Bold they may be, but most burglars would avoid an encounter with an angry homeowner if they can. But because we can’t stay at home 24/7, maybe we can leave it to Kevin? He’s a light-emitting speaker designed to simulate the sights and sounds of a real person, so much so, that he might just ward off any unwelcome visitors […]